Other common names include storm moon and hunger moon. The typically cold, snowy weather of February in North America earned this full moon its name. Other names for this month's full moon include old moon and ice moon. Native Americans and medieval Europeans supposedly named January's full moon after the howling of hungry wolves lamenting the midwinter paucity of food. In any given month we see eight distinct phases of the moon, defined by how much of the lunar disk is illuminated from our perspective and whether the moon is heading toward or away from being full. That means the same side of the moon always faces Earth, although both sides get illuminated as the moon orbits, so there is no perpetual dark side of the moon.Īs the moon, Earth, and the sun go through their orbital dance, the part of the moon that's illuminated by sunlight moves in and out of our view, creating a predictable series of lunar phases. In essence, it takes roughly the same amount of time for the moon to spin once on its axis as it takes for our celestial companion to complete an orbit around Earth. In addition, our view of the moon is governed by a gravitational quirk called tidal locking. This lunar cycle happens in part because the moon does not produce its own light the silvery glow we see comes from sunlight reflecting off the moon's monochrome surface. What is the moon made of, and how did it form? Learn about the moon's violent origins, how its phases shaped the earliest calendars, and how humans first explored Earth's only natural satellite half a century ago.
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